The day was already hot and John Ross hoped he would find Pamela Rebecca soon and they could get back to Dallas. This was beginning to be one trip that he wished he hadn't taken.

The sun reflected off of something metallic and John Ross looked ahead to find a large metal building.

"That must be it."

He picked up his pace and had soon reached the building. Not bothering to search for a door, John Ross picked the nearest broken window and climbed in.

Sue Ellen stood in her son's hotel room, staring in disbelief at the crinkled up piece of paper she had found. It was the ransom note. "J.R.!" she yelled, "Come here."

J.R., who had been out in the hallway talking to a police officer, walked over to her. "What is it Sue Ellen?"

"Someone kidnapped Pamela Rebecca. John Ross must have gone after them."

"It's got to be Akbar," said J.R. The officer took a look at the note and stepped outside where he radioed back to headquarters.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ewing, we're sending a chopper with some of our men on it out to Laysan Island."

"Okay," said J.R., "I'm going with you."

"Me too," said Sue Ellen.

"Wait," said the officer, "I don't think that it's a good idea for you two to go."

"That's my son out there," said J.R., "I'm going with you come hell or high water."

The officer, who knew that men like J.R. Ewing couldn't be argued with, nodded his head. "We leave in fifteen minutes. I'll meet you at headquarters downtown."

J.R. and Sue Ellen took the elevator with the officer, whose name was Mack, and stepped out into the lobby.

"Sue Ellen!"

Sue Ellen was surprised at first. After all, there weren't that many people here that knew her. She turned around. "Afton?"

"I got your message. I had to come," said Afton.

"Afton, you didn't have to."

"Yes I did. What's up?"

Sue Ellen bit her lip. "Pamela Rebecca has been kidnapped. John Ross is missing too. We think he went after her. The kidnapper left a ransom note, so we know where she is. J.R. and I are flying out there with the police in a few minutes."

"Oh my God," said Afton. Suddenly all of the past few months' events with Lucy and Cliff seemed unimportant. Other than Mitch and her mother, Pamela Rebecca was really the only thing she had left.

"I'm sorry Afton," said Sue Ellen, "we'll find Pamela Rebecca and John Ross." The two women embraced.

"Hello Afton," said J.R., having finished his conversation with Mack. "You must have gotten Sue Ellen's message."

"Hi J.R. Yes I got her message." Afton remembered her vow to be Mrs. J.R. Ewing in 1999. That too seemed unimportant to her now.

"Well, we'd better get going if we're going to get to the police department in time to go to Laysan with them," said J.R. He started for the door and Afton and Sue Ellen followed.

"Hey there."

Bobby looked up from the files from his meeting and smiled at the vision before him. "Hey yourself, how did the building hunting go?"

Pam shook her head. "It didn't. But Tomorrow is another day."

He got up from the desk and came to hug his wife. "I'm taking you -- lovely lady, out for dinner."

Bobby went to get his jacket. "Bobby, I think that I need to start making appointments to see Ryanne. I ran into Mark. I don't know, but I think that he's tied into this somehow. If he holds the key to my regaining my memories."

Bobby hugged his wife again, a look of puzzlement in his eyes as he pushed away from her. "Mark Graison?"

Pam nodded.

"Pam honey, Mark's dead. He died in that plane crash. YOU told me that."

She shook her head. "I didn't ask him the finer points of how long he treaded water. But it is him, Bobby. He's alive and apparently cured."

Bobby shook his head. "When did he tell you all this?"

Pam hesitated, not sure if this was the moment to tell him this. "He TRIED to at the wedding. But I made him leave before the explosion. He and I met this afternoon and we talked about what brought him to our wedding."

Trying not to let his irrational anger get the best of him, Bobby looked at his wife. "And what did the prodigal son say?"

"Bobby, He wanted to apologize."

Bobby ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. "Apologize for what Pammy?"

What Pam said next threw Bobby for a loop.

"He wanted to apologize for having been married to Katherine."

"There it is," said the helicopter pilot, pointing down to a green spot in the middle of a huge blue expanse of ocean. "I've got another chopper going to the resort, but I don't think that that's where he took Pamela Rebecca."

"Oh? Where are we going then?" said J.R.

"It's an abandoned geological research center. We think that's where Akbar has Pamela Rebecca."

Sue Ellen stared out the window at the ocean as they landed on a patch of bare ground.

The atmosphere of the island was muggy. The humid air clinged to Sue Ellen as she stepped out into it. Afton was the next to get out of the helicopter, followed by J.R. and the two officers. It was already getting late, but there were still several hours of daylight left.

"It looks like a storm is going to come soon," said one of the officers.

"Storm or no storm, we're going to save my son," said J.R.

"And my daughter," said Afton.

"Then we should hurry, the sooner we get off this island, the better." Mack glanced nervously up at the sky. The wind had already picked up quite a bit and the air was already growing cooler. "It's right this way. The walk is short."

Mack and the other officer, Joe, led the way into the jungle and Sue Ellen, J.R., and Afton followed. The pilot remained behind with the helicopter.

"How stupid ARE you?!"

Mark took a sip of his brandy with the hand that wasn't holding the telephone, "Smarter than YOU are, ex-wife."

Katherine glared at the telephone. "You actually told her everything. She knows that we are married?"

Mark corrected her, "WERE."

Her laugh came through the lines as brittle as tin. "To Pam, it really wouldn't matter." She hissed. "You see, anything I've touched is forever tainted in Pam's eyes."

Mark rolled his eyes and wondered what it was that led him to her. "Katherine, what is it that you want?"

"Oh, don't worry Mark. The alimony is just fine. HOWEVER I want you to get HER to Paris as soon as possible. Pam needs to learn about ALL of her life."

Mark shut his eyes. "Katherine, goodnight."

Before he hung up, Katherine's voice mocked him. "Don't HANG up on me!"

"Why not?"

Her challenge to Mark, was more like a threat.

"Hang up and this time, Bobby will lose not only Pamela, but he will learn what you've lived with for so long. What it is like to lose a baby."

Mark reached for the record button on the machine he kept beside his office phone. "What is it you want me to do Katherine?

As he listened, he hoped to God that he could begin to make things right for Pam and restore the trust that he lost with her, thanks to his backing the wrong horse. Instead of his wife, he had believed a viper.

John Ross crept through the dusty hallways of the research center. He had passed several laboratories, most in a deteriorated state, but had seen no sign of anybody having been there recently. A clap of thunder shook the building and John Ross could hear the patter of rain hitting the roof. It was then that he heard the voices —- voices that he recognized as those of Akbar and Pamela Rebecca. They were coming from the next room. He had found them.

Though it was raining, the dense canopy of the jungle kept most of the rain from hitting the group as they reached the compound.

"I think it's best that the three of you wait outside. Joe and I can take care of this," said Mack.

"No, we're going in too," said J.R. He noticed the logo on the door, an elaborate "CG" was stenciled on it. J.R. thought he had seen that logo before, but he wasn't sure.

Mack nodded and kicked open the door. He and Joe went in first, followed by the others.

John Ross ducked back into the room as Akbar left the room that he and Pamela Rebecca had been in. After Akbar was safely out of sight, John Ross entered the room.

"Oh my God! John Ross!" said Pamela Rebecca.

"Sshhh. We're going to get out of here Pamela. Just keep it down." John Ross began to untie the ropes from her hands and feet.

"I don't think you want to do that Mr. Ewing."

John Ross turned around and saw Akbar standing in the doorway, gun in hand. Akbar stepped toward him and shut the door.

"Listen, I'll get you the money," said John Ross, "every bit of it. Just let us go."

"I don't know if I can do that. Things may have already gone too far."

"I can double the amount you want," John Ross said, trying to reason.

Akbar stood silently for a moment, apparently in thought. John Ross was sure he'd accept it. "I cannot do that now. It is too late."

John Ross closed his eyes as his shoulders dropped.

"McKnight, calling for backup. We've got a possible hostage situation near the research center on Laysan Island." Mack put down his police radio and looked at the closed door nervously.

"Oh my God," said Sue Ellen. She put her head against J.R. and he reluctantly put his arms around her. Afton watched them.

Mack tapped on the door, "Is anyone in there?"

Inside the room, Akbar froze. Pamela Rebecca let out a scream. "Yes! We are in here." Akbar pushed Pamela Rebecca to the ground.

"Shut the hell up," he snarled to her. He turned to the direction of the door. "All of you, get out of this compound or the girl dies!"

Outside the door, Afton crept to the edge of hysteria. She could lose her daughter if someone didn't get her out of there. Mack looked at them. "We need to do what he says for now —- at least until we have a plan."

"You mean you don't have a plan?" said J.R. with a fierce tone in his voice.

Mack lowered his head. "No Mr. Ewing, right now we have no plan. But I called for backup just in case this happened. I'll have my men surround the building. There's a good chance that Akbar might leave John Ross and Pamela Rebecca here and try to escape alone. But for now we go outside." Mack stepped closer to the door. "Akbar, we are going back out. But what do you want?"

"Just get out," came Akbar's accent.

Mack gestured to the door and Joe, J.R., and Sue Ellen followed him. Afton followed only after a moment of hesitation. "Listen," Afton said to Mack, "you have to get my daughter out of there alive. I...I can't lose her."

"We're going to do our best," said Mack with as much compassion and pity as he could muster.

His certainty reassured Afton and her mind was a little more at rest, but she still wondered how the day would turn out. Already it was beginning to get dark outside and the storm was still raging on.

John Ross had been waiting for his chance for almost an hour and now he saw it. Akbar had turned away from them to glance out the window. John Ross made a lunge for the gun and he and Akbar struggled over it.

The sound of a gunshot echoed from the building and J.R. whipped around towards it. "John Ross!" Suddenly he didn't care what happened to him; he just wanted to get his son out. J.R. ran into the building.

"Mr. Ewing!" Mack shouted over the sound of the storm. He looked back at his men and shouted. "Two of you go in there and get him out."

The two men nearest the building followed J.R. inside.

J.R. hesitated outside the door to the room where Akbar was. He slowly opened the door, expecting gunfire to rip through him, but to his surprise, no one was in the room. "Damn," he said. "He moved them."

J.R. whipped around upon hearing the sound. It was the cobra -— his hood flared, swaying side to side in a hypnotic daze. It there was one thing J.R. hated, other than Cliff Barnes of course, it was snakes. J.R. wanted to turn and run, but he slowly backed up instead. Before he realized what had happened, J.R. had backed into something and was sent careening to the ground with the sound of a loud clatter. He got to his knees and saw papers scattered around him. Temporarily forgetting about the snake, J.R. picked up one of the pages. What he saw on one of them both shocked and baffled him. He grabbed some of the papers and stuffed them into his back pocket before leaving the room, walking slowly around the snake which had moved to a corner of the room, eyeing J.R. and a couple of mice that were scurrying around in the corner.

"Clayton, why didn't you have Dusty flown back to Dallas?"

"Please Ellie, let's just get this over with."

Miss Ellie was worried about her husband. Rarely before had she seem him be so pessimistic. Clayton and Ellie entered the visitation room and walked over to the casket. Ellie heard a sniffle and knew her husband was crying over his lost son. She put her arm around him.

Clayton turned from the casket. "I'll be right back Ellie." He left Ellie alone in the room as she looked at Dusty.

She didn't notice as a woman, wearing all black, sneaked in through the other door and stood near the back of the room. The woman reached into her purse and slowly pulled out a gun, which she aimed directly at Ellie Ewing Farlow. Oh Ellie. It's time you pay for all the rotten things you've done to me...

John Ross stared up at the hole the bullet had made in the plastered ceiling and thought about where else the bullet could have gone. He shuddered.

"John Ross Ewing, you have crossed me once by backing out of our deal. Now you've done it again. I shall have to teach you a lesson."

Akbar raised the gun and pointed it at John Ross. John Ross began to sweat and his mouth went so dry that he couldn't have spoken if he had too. Akbar then smiled, revealing several gold teeth. He took the gun off John Ross and quickly aimed it at Pamela Rebecca's head.

J.R. had heard someone walking, maybe around the next corner. He wasn't sure where, but the sound of footsteps he had definitely heard were close. The sudden sound of gunshot was deafening inside the building. J.R. felt a huge pain explode inside his head as he fell to the ground.

Screen freeze on J.R., lying on the floor...

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